According to a new report by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, anyone working full-time as a retail sales clerk, janitor or home health aide cannot, on their own, afford to rent or buy a home in any of the county’s 20 cities.
Only in Edgerton can a paramedic, school social worker or firefighter afford to own a home without devoting more than 30 percent of his or her income to housing, which experts say is the maximum a household can afford without becoming “cost-burdened” with housing.
And in only six cities, the report said, are rents affordable for a paramedic or school social worker. By taking a formal position, the League of Women Voters will then be able to encourage local governments to promote affordable housing, said Lee Rowe of Overland Park, who co-chaired the League’s 10-member committee that studied the issue.
“I care about people who work here,” she said. “As we walk around or do business here, we know that the people who are helping us are probably not able to live here. They have to come in from elsewhere.”
The report noted that affordable housing enables communities to thrive.
“Safe, stable, affordable housing is essential to civic life. Without a place to call home and a sense of community, people cannot participate in civic life, including local politics and voting,” the report stated. “Housing that is affordable to workers – including those entering the job market and baby boomers still working – can spur economic development, and in turn enhance a community’s appeal to residents of a variety of incomes and ages.”
(Read more: Joco 913 News)